Homily: December 4, 2022, Second Sunday of Advent

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“On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse… the lion shall eat hay like the ox… the baby shall play by the cobra’s den.”

Don’t you think this is too good to be true, too impossible to be real?

Then in the Gospel, St. John the Baptist declares that “God can raise up children from these stones.”

For man, all these are impossible, but Angel Gabriel cannot lie, he declared “For God, nothing is impossible.” 

Our faith assures us if God wills it, anything is possible. Salvation history has shown that many impossible events have been made possible by God.

Now, if everything is possible for God, then why don’t we see harmony and peace among the different species of creatures? We do not even see harmony and peace among the one species of humans.

I am sure almighty God can just breathe a word or snap His fingers and war will end, fighting will stop, peace will reign, right?

Wrong. Not that He can’t but He won’t. True peace, true love, true joy cannot be controlled or manipulated. And God cannot take back what He has gifted to humans, our free will.

In the beginning, God created the world in perfect harmony, all his creatures lived in peace but man broke it with sin. We began to hate each other; we victimized our own kind. 

The animals became enemies amongst themselves, they became predator and prey. Man destroyed nature and nature turned against man. We lost the peace, joy and love in our relationships.

God wants to bring His creation back to its original harmony. He won’t do it without us. We can’t do it without Him. But since we broke it, we got to mend it. 

This is the power and purpose of free will. This is the great reconciliation of man to his God and the unconditional love of God for His people.

And that happens only when we totally surrender ourselves to God, to His divine plan, when we unite our will with His will.

A few months ago, our safety committee had a meeting with the police officers in the city. One of them commented that “the more people come and sit in the church pews, the less trouble in the city.” 

That struck me. It is true. Our churches have an important role in bringing peace to the world. It is her mission.

There are world leaders who try to establish peace with their secular ideas and principles, but all these efforts will be in vain if they act without God, because God is the source of true peace.

The first reading states that “There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the lord as water covers the sea”. There will be peace and harmony when we know God. Peace will be destroyed when we deny God.

Two hundred years ago, there was no St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines. People who lived at that time would not have known there would be such a beautiful cathedral one day. 

God willed St. Ambrose to be a house of prayer for all nations. Our forefathers collaborated with God’s will and today we are here together. Over the years, many souls have been saved through this church.

Imagine if this church were to collapse one day, would you want to rebuild another wonderful sanctuary like this?

 Would you give all you have to rebuild the church, the community? Well, it is easier to maintain, grow and sustain it than to rebuild it surely.

A few weeks ago, we invited you to share your time and talent for this community. I thank all of you who responded generously. We still need more volunteers in various areas, please do not stop offering your love and service.

Other than time and talent, the third way to give back is ‘Treasure’. 

A recent study on the Catholic Church shows that 10% of parishioners contribute to 90% of the income of the parish. That’s a big load on a small minority, we need to change. All of us can contribute more to the parish.

Take a look at our bulletin, our expenses for the month of November was 44,000 and we received only 17,000. This has been the situation for some time now. 

As such, we are five months behind in our financial commitments and liabilities. We will need to do a lot more to cover up the gaps. We need everyone to chip in.

I appeal to your generosity, to share your treasure with our parish. Let us actively maintain this church built for us by our forefathers, grow and sustain it for our future generations. God wants to make the impossible possible through our hands and hearts. Would you want that too?

Amen.


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